Fishing reel



G. W. UPTON.

FISHING REEL.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. I8. IQIIIA 194021,81 l Patented Jan. 10, 1922..

. and a side view of the reel FISHJING REEL.

incastri To @ZZV/.whom t may concern.' i i Be it known that LGEORGE W. UP'roN, a

citizen of the United States of America, re-

Vlease or free the spool from operation with the gears when the line'is unwinding from it, and `re-connect it with the operating gears when the crank is turned for winding the line in: second, to connect a rotatable shaft,

vhaving' reverse threads and operating aline distributing, mechanical, thumbing block, with the gears of the reel when the line is winding inan'd disconnect it, making it inoperative when the line is unwinding from the spool, and third, to vprovide a simple clutch for use with any rotating mechanism which will be mechanically operated to engage its clutch members when revolved in onedirection and disengage themselves when revolved in the opposite direction.

I attain those objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an elevation showing one end of a fishing reel w'ith my invention applied, with parts broken away and partly in section.

Fig. 2 shows a plan view of the same taken through line A-A looking inward lor toward the left. Fig. 3 shows on the left a view of the interior of the cap of my reel, taken on the lineB-B, Fig. l, and looking to the right; cap on the right of the figure.

Fig. 4 shows my preferredv form of novel and useful clutch members pertaining to this invention, in perspective in which the upper pair of illustrations, 4a and 4a show my clutch members as at first made up and in .operative condition for ordinary use; .and

the lower pair 4b and 4b show the same, after a modification, for more prompt engagement with each other.

Like characters `refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The right end plate of a reel called a head plate, 1, carries the usual cap 2, enclosing the gears which in this instance consist of a cog 3, mounted on a cog-post 4,

Specification of Letters Patent. Patnged Jan, 1U, 19220' Application led January 18, 1918. Serial No. 212,425. l

whose base is riveted to the head plate, l, in the usual way.

The spool, 6, revolves on an axle, 7, one of whose protruding ends is shown contacting at its extreme outer, pointed end with the center of an oil cup, 8, which is threaded onto a protuberance on the exterior of the cap'2 in the usual way.

`The head plate 1 is connected with the tail plate of the reel (not shown) by a plurality of pillars 9, 9, to two of which a reel seat cross plate 30, is attached as usual.

" rllhe cog, 3 l manufacture with generated Vspirally cut gear teeth, 10, cut on very moderately inclined helical planes, respectively parallel, and havingtheir inner ends lower thantheir outer ends, as illustrated, when viewed from the front of a right hand winding reel. Seen from the rear the line of their slope would be reversedbf necessity.

,'Correspondingly I manufacture the pinion 5, which is sleeved loosely on the axle 7, with 'spirally cut teeth of a corresponding pitch and number,.but reversed as to their` 6 to rotate toward the operator, to wind'inl l the line, when the cog 3 is -rotated by means of the crank 13 in the opposite or forward direction. I I

The clutch mechanism hereinabove described is subject matter of my earlier Patent N o. 820,326, to which suchreference is made as is pertinent.

ln connection with the class of reels which have doubly cut or reversely threaded rotating rods between Itheir head and tail plates, for operation in conjunction with pawls traveling in said threads on said rods", one of which is illustrated -(broken away) as rod 14, bearing a linedistributing block 18,1 provide a pinion 15, loosely sleeved on an lend of said rod 14, which protrudes through the head plate l, and into the casing space under the cap 2, meshing with the cog 3, as shown. i

l manufacture the generated teeth of the same pitchl as. those pinion 15 with spirally i v (shown: and described as for the pinion 5, 'andof a' number required by the lrelative diameters of the cog 3 and pinion 15, and helically inclined in reverse of the teeth of cog 3, as clearly shown. f

The pinion can be used to clutch the (v rod 14 by employing the same clutch members 11, and 12 as are shown for pinion 5;' but, in order to avoid weakening the endjof the shaft 14 (or the axle 7) by drilling a hole for a peg (as 11), and, 'to produce a clutch which shall have a minimum of frictional contact, and rapping of adjacent memberswhen the members are out of clutch, one being idle and the other rotat, ing, as when the rod 14 or the axle 7 is cast l free from the rotations of the gears, I have invented and prefer the form of a simple clutchillustrated in Fig. 4, in whichI show the end ofy a reverse threaded rod` 14 (broken away) with a slight annular reduction to produce a collar 16 which conveniently (but not of necessity) fits into a hole or a bushing set into a hole'in the head plate 1, for ar bearing.

n. In practice (when used as an axle) said reduced' collar extends far enough to admit of two opposite parallel flat surfaces 17,17

being chamfered, and then a corresponding lrectangular cut out (12, 12) Fig. 4, is made in oneend of a pinion 15 leaving legs a, a, Fig. 4, so the pinion straddles the axle, clamping the pinion legs a, onto the surfaces 17, 17 ;A thecentralhole 7 through the pinion, fittingsnu ly on the reduced exl tension 7 (or 7) and evolving with it.

To form my improved clutch I cut off two opposite corners 19, 19`of the chamfered lug 20 in such a way as to leave two lanceolated surfaces 19, 19 where the corners 19,319 were, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 4.

I then cut the opposite legs a, c, on op-posite bevels from b downto c, and from d down to e, as shown in Fig. 4. In consequence, when the pinion 15 is pushed up to the lug 2Q the-beveled legs b, c and d, e, slide over and around on the lanceolated surfaces 19, 19 and lock the pinion and rod oraxle end in clutch. L

Vice versa, when the pinion is rotated thev Y other way it slides fand rolls off ofv the lug 20, and the rod 14 (or the axle end 7 lwhen there used) is freed from the gears'.

manufacture'the cogs and pinions with spiral gears cut as described and illustrated because by 'so doing rotation of the c og 3 inl a forward direction drives the pinions 5 and 15 inwardly along the endsf7 and 7 -on` which they are sleeved, y. respectively, (or either of them if lout one lis used) by virtue of the frictional conversion of vertical pressure to lateral movement along the spiral gear'teeth.

The harder" a large ish pulls on the line Wound on the spool the 'more firmly ,does

-passes through a hole therein,

ca 2. y

Ihen the cast releases the clutch on the end of the rod 14; allows the pinion 15 to i spin freely with practically no friction to shorten the cast, and ileaves the line distributing. block 18 at rest until the crank 13 is grasped and rotated to wind in thef line, whereupon the clutch members of the pinion 15 and theA rod 14 at once engage, the rod 14 is rotated, the pawl 24 retained in ivery slight frictional contact with therod 14 travels in its reversing threads, land the block 18 moves laterally of ,the reel along the rod 14 vevenly distributing the incoming line, whichit has automatically pickedy up by crowding it over the prongs 2,5, 25 at lts 'ends and dropped into the slot/26,on-the spool 6. f

The operation of the vspirally generated gear teeth on the cog and pinion is lordinarily sufficient toforce the pinion into land out of clutch with an axle or rotating rod or shaft, .but to make the prompt operation more positive, as in cases of faulty lubrication or the lackthereof, a very light ,spring may be used to start the pinion inwardlyalong the axle or rod end, and I have' illustrated a preferred form in Figs. 1 and 3, in

the Ifiat. spring Si attached to the under or 'A05 inside face of the reel cap -2' and havmg prongs (or a'hole) at its free end 'to clear the end 7 of the rod 14. As the free end of the spring, S, lightly-bears only upon the outer end of the pinion 15, and does not touch the outer end of the rod 14, which end rests between the prongs of the spring S (or w en so constructed, not shown as it is only a-mechani cal equivalent) theP pinion 15 moves freely upon the red 14, and touches the spring-only when it is out of operative clutch with the rod 14. In case the longitudinal drive'of the pinion inwardly is not suiiiciently or quickly enough effected by the pressure on its spirally cut teeth, of those of the cog, the spr-ing S will shoot the pinion inwardlyy only just enough to cause the 'ends of the clutch members to take hold; whereupon the spring no longer'functions and the gears "firmly seat and hold the clutch members together. The harder the pull of a fish the,

firmer the clutch hold.

The spring will usually be so adjusted as-not to touch the pinion and will not func- "cause it can be regulated from the outside of a reel by useof an ordinary slide button such as is incommon use to put drags of reels in operation, as illustrated by button 27. f

I have shown, in dotted line', a spring S Fig. 2, attached to the end of a pillar 9 and held by its pillar screw; and another one the gear case,

in broken line, S, holding the pinion l in clutch with the rod 14 and adjiistable by a screw 28 whose threaded stem, 29, pierces it and Whose head is outside of the reel cap 2. T he use of a light, spirally coiled spring, surrounding an axle or a rod end, either Within a cavity of the pinion or at either endv of it, is equally Within the scope of my invention.

lt do not limit the use of clutch to fishing reels.

ll claim: A 1. The combination of a complete fishing reel having a spirally cut cog and'pinion, a reverse threaded rotatable rod betWee its end plates and extending at one end into a `loosely sleeved line guide block containing a paWl and spring the described mounted on said rod, and a clutch member formed as part of said rod Within said gear case,` with a sliding sleeved pinion one of whose ends forms the second member of a clutch and having spirally generated gear teeth meshing with the teeth of said cog and .a spring attached at one end to a rigid 'part of said reel and having its free end in contact with said pinion.

2. In a fishing reel of the kind described, the combination of aframe, a spool, a crank, a cog and a rotatable rod in front of said spool; with a pinion in mesh with said cog,

and a spring attached to said frame at one.

end, and contacting with said pinion when it is not in operating relation to' said rotatable rod, for the purpose set forth.

3. In a fishing reel, a frame, a main shaft, a spool mounted thereon, a level Wind shaft, a line-laying device mounted upon said level-Wind shaft and adapted to be moved thereby, spirally toothed pinions or cogs sleeved upon the inner ends of said main and level-Wind. shaftsadapted to operatively engage said spoolv and level-Wind shaft when moved laterally inward, and a manually operated spirally toothed gear y in mesh With saidcogs to simultaneously shift them laterally during their rotation in one direction or the other.

ntestimony whereof l aiX my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

GEORGE W. UPTON. 1lWitnesses:

H. T. UPToN, E. J. HAUSER. 

